Froggy Style is the second raucous and irreverent book in the F***ed-Up Fairytale series by J.A. Kazimer puts a new whacky spin on a French-kissing frog looking for his princess!
Plot:
Jean-Michel La Grenouille has a lot going for him. He's a prince. Handsome. Filthy rich. And definitely charming. But he also spent his first few years as a fly-catching, pond-dwelling frog. All that saved him was the kiss of The One, the girl who saw nobility through his slimy form and fell into True Love. Okay, fine. Technically she was a toddler who tried to eat him, but whatever. The curse broke, and as long as he finds and marries her by his 30th birthday, he's a free man.
Trouble is, he's going to be 30 in ten days, and he's getting some seriously cold-blooded feet. He's pretty sure Princess Sleeping Beauty is The One. But his best man has some villain issues, his in-laws-to-be belong in a really special castle, and a smoking-hot lady biker named Lollie Bliss has him rethinking all this happily-ever-after stuff.
Oh, and he may have accidentally put out a hit on his blushing bride. Oopsie.
The title alone was enough to perk my interest. I mean, come on it's clever! By the first chapter you know what you've just committed to reading. A classic fairytale with an adult twist, laced with dirty humor and slap stick comedy. It's absolutely over the top and meant to be. Classic tales get revamped all the time but Froggy Style takes a unique twist and makes no apologies with it's explosion of humors dialog.
I love a good laugh that's done well and pushes the boundaries at times. You get all of that here. Add to that an arrogant Frog Prince and his witty man servant and you're sure to be entertained. I had a strong vibe of the film The Hangover with this one. A few plot holes that didn't add up with side characters and while I love a good twist, I wanted something a little less predictable. Add to that a wild goose chase that goes round and round and ends up landing right back where it started, left me a tad underwhelmed.
Overall, if you're looking for a comedy paced to a classic tale and filled with enough fairy godmother antics to shake a broomstick at, then look no further.
Getting 3 and 1/2 Sheep
KD
***GIVEAWAY***
Kensington Books is offering one paperback copy of Cursed to a luck commenter. This contest is for US/Canada only. To enter, please leave the following in the comments below. 1. Your Email Address 2. Do you follow us? If so add double entries 3. What would your prince or princess charming have to do to win you over? Contest ends May 3rd. Good luck!
Hello Alethea! Welcome to I Smell Sheep. I heard that you are a princess so Katie “Queen of Vampires” said you could use her throne.
*wipes moon pie crumbs off*
Katie: Hey! I was still eating that!
Before we start, I need everyone to reach underneath their chair and put on the sunglasses so you will be prepared.
Sharon: For our readers who don’t know about Enchanted yet, can you give them an idea of what it is about and why their lives will be all the better for reading it?
Alethea: The overall premise of the Enchanted world is that Once Upon a Time, all the fairy tales you've ever known (and many you don't) all came from one family, the Woodcutters. Enchanted is the story of the youngest daughter, Sunday Woodcutter, and the prince her father hates.
Sharon: I wanted to share with everyone the review quote you have on your site. I wish I could come up with something as eloquent and awesome as this:
“Enchanted is like a fairy tale collection came in and threw up all over the place. In a good way.” –Melanie Foust
Do you agree with this? Just how many fairy tales references are there in Enchanted?
Alethea: I completely agree with that, and I honestly have no idea how many fairy tale references there are. All of them. The Italian ones, the French ones, the Dutch ones, and the German ones. And Mother Goose. If there's one you can think of that doesn't get mentioned, just wait for the sequel. :)
Sharon: I love your idea of taking this poem and turning it into the seven sisters in Enchanted.
Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.
Was there one sister you liked or disliked more than the others? Or someone’s story you want to tell next?
Alethea: I cannot WAIT to tell Monday's story...but of course, she's last in the sequence of books, since I'm going backwards through the sisters. I only hope the publisher lets me get that far! I will give you a hint, though -- who else's daughter could be "the fairest of them all"? I wrote that particular princess's origin tale as a short story in the Demons anthology last year. You can still read it for free here
Sharon: Finish this sentence “people think I am weird because…”
Alethea: ...because "normal" people shy away from the power of my Sheer Awesome. They sometimes walk on the other side of the street.
Sharon: how does your awesome present itself? Blinding light, angels singing or does it just knock people on their asses?
[Attn: wear protection around Alethea]
Alethea: Ironically, the superbright light of my own aura blinds ME. It's really annoying at times, like when I'm in the airport and need to check my gate. I'm not scary, per se--I have one of those faces that says, "I'm a really nice person, please talk to me!" But if you get too close, The Awesome can be a little intimidating.
Sharon: What fictional character would you like to have your back during the zombie apocalypse and would you wear your tiara during battle?
Alethea: Fictional Character? Toss up between Ash and Sean. Tiara? OF COURSE.
Sharon: Ash, good choice! I’d pick Optimus Prime…just saying…
Katie: She really never stops with the Prime love...
Sharon: When did you realize you had a gnome fetish? How many would you say you have?
Alethea: My BFF artist Janet K. Lee (The Wonderland Alphabet) got me hooked on gnomes. I had gone shopping for my lunch hour because I was having a bad day, and I came across a cast iron gnome on sale at Target. I named him Seamus. Janet borrowed him that afternoon to "model" for some paintings she was doing. That Christmas, she asked me what I would like on my Christmas ornament, and I answered "Mad Scientist Garden Gnome" off the tip of my tongue. This inspired an entire illustrated Twitter serial story. Seamus has been adding brothers ever since.
Sharon: The Wonderland Alphabet? As in Alice? Sounds cool, do tell!
Alethea: "A is for Alice: Alice indeed was a curious girl
Who fell rather far through a hole in the world
She followed a clock-watching rabbit, you see
To a land full of wonder...and madness...and tea."
...and so on, from A to Z, with every page illustrated by Janet! THIS is the kind of book I loved when I was a kid, just like Gelett Burgess's Goops series. I can't tell you how over the moon I am about our Wonderland project.
sneak peek at each page!
Sharon: If every time you walked into a room theme music or song would play. What would yours be?
Alethea: "The Rainbow Connection" as sung by Kermit the Frog, hands down.
Sharon: WOOT! 10 coolness points for you!
Alethea: It's all thanks to Facebook -- some profile questionnaire everyone was posting on their walls back in the day asked something like "What's your favorite song?" or "What's the song that defines you?" I realized at that moment that "The Rainbow Connection" was the one song I couldn't imagine living without.
Sharon: What or who is your biggest inspiration?
Alethea: My friends are my biggest inspiration. I surround myself with incredibly talented and productive people, and then I use them as a ruler to measure myself against. If I'm feeling down or overwhelmed, I just think, "What would Janet Lee/Mary Robinette Kowal/John Scalzi/Sherrilyn Kenyon do?" And then I suck it up and get back to work.
Sharon: So you have a rubber bracelet that says “WWJLMRKJSSKD?” hope you didn’t have to pay by the letter!
Alethea: I bought the letter-beads in bulk to promote the first AlphaOops book, back when it was called "The Telaphab." I wonder if those bracelets will be worth money someday...
Sharon: Would you kiss a frog? a sheep?
Alethea:Sure, why not? But I wouldn't throw them against a wall. (Have you read the original "The Frog Prince?")
Sharon: Apparently not! But I might have to now, I love violence J
Alethea: Grimm and Andersen, my child. Go forth and enjoy bloodily.
Sharon: What kind of art do you like? Cereal? Lipgloss?
Artwork by Michael Whelan
Alethea: I love mixed media like Janet Lee's, of course, and the kind my sister Soteria used to do before she turned to jewelry and Dixie Dunbar Studio overwhelmed her life. I adore the pre-Raphaelites, and I'm a HUGE fangirl for fantasy cover art. Michael Whelan, K.Y. Craft, John Jude Palencar, Charles Vess, Rowena...they all make my knees weak.
Alethea: Cereal? Not really. Too much sugar.
Sharon: bite your tongue princess!
Alethea: No thanks. Too much sugar.
Alethea: Lipgloss? In Europe, it used to be called Labello. Over here it’s called Nivea. I also like Burt's Bees Shimmer. It's tough to find make-up stuff, because I'm allergic to aloe. How stupid is that??
Sharon: You do a lot of conventions (I met you at MystiCon 2012) what was your biggest fangirl moment?
don't tell Katie he sparkles
Alethea: Second only to meeting Anne McCaffrey was meeting Noah Hathaway, who played Atreyu in The Neverending Story. He was SO CUTE. My sister and I used to play this name game in the car on long trips, and every time we got to A, we yelled "ATREYUUUUU!" Lord knows I never thought I would actually TELL ATREYU THIS. How awesome is that??
Sharon: pretty damn freaking awesome! That’s how!
Alethea: My face is SO RED in the picture of me & Noah. I think I broke out in hives. BEWARE THE DANGERS OF AWESOME.
Rapid Fire time…go ahead and take a shot of Kool-Aid cause we are going to throw down!
Sharon: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo or Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho?
Alethea: Bibbidi, of course.
Sharon: but don’t you want to say hiney?
Alethea: Have I mentioned that the Fairy Godboyfriend is the perfect mixture of John Cusack and Shrek? Emphasis on the Shrek.
Sharon: duct tape or crazy glue?
Alethea: Duct tape! It comes in awesome colors & patterns now!
Sharon: before or after?
Alethea: NOW.
Sharon: basket of puppies or basket of kitties?
Alethea: No way. Basket of owls or baby elephants.
Sharon: oh snap! 10 more coolness points for you!
Sharon: man on a horse or man on a Harley?
Alethea: Horse! Knights in Shining Armor ride horses.
Alethea: Fresh water if I'm drinking; salt water if I'm swimming.
Sharon: Roadrunner or Coyote?
Alethea: Coyote. He was a little misguided, but he wasn't a JERK.
Katie: Meep! Meep!
Sharon: cake or pie?
Alethea: PIE. Oh, yes, pie.
Sharon: got a favorite?
Alethea: I'd say my Memere's apple, but Mom's Pie Shop here in Leesburg has a raspberry peach to die for.
Sharon: Coke or Pepsi?
Alethea: Earl Grey, hot. (Preferably with scones.)
Sharon:*BUZZER* sorry, you must pick, it is a moral imperative. Which can do you think is prettier?
Alethea: COKE. Because it has a ribbon. And I was raised in The South.
And I totally deserve 10 more points for channeling John Luc Picard. *pfffftt*
Sharon: Yeah, well you lost them because you picked Coke! :P
Katie: And I give them all back to you!!! Plus extra for the STTNG reference. *winks*
Sharon: Is there anything else you would like mention, places you can be found in the next few months or upcoming projects?
Alethea: I am sending myself through the Southern states (VA, NC, SC, GA, TN) on book tour, because I am insane (and have lots of friends whom I miss).
.jpg "Ash from the Evil Dead")
.jpg "Fire dragon art")
.jpg "Atreyu from The Never-ending Story")